Foo - Do I owe my roommate money?

Ethical question:

2 months ago there was a Christmas party at my house. One of my roommates just asked me if I have money her to pay her back for "[my] share of the alcohol." The funny thing is I have no recollection of said party, and no, Spry, I wasn't blacked out. Perplexed, I asked my best friend (who is also a roommate), who told me that I wasn't at said party, that it was a night I felt lousy and went to my girlfriend's place to sleep.

So the question is, to what extent, if any, do I owe her?

Not just no, hell no.

Hell to the nah

Drinking is bad for you. Just Say'in.

Couch

You owe her nothing. Had you been involved with the planning of the party, and agreed to contribute to the cost of said party, then yes, you'd owe her, even if you ended up not attending. If you weren't involved in the planning and didn't agree to contribute financially before hand, then she's SOL.

PC2, only you know the real answer to this question. I would think since you did not even recall the party, that the answer is no. But, if you were involved in the planning, agreed to share costs, invited your friends, you may have attended, even in your absence, then yes, you should help defray the costs.

Also, I did not read any of the responses, so monogodo is the winner of this thread.

You could also tell her that you fronted her the money for the alcohol and she promised to pay you back. Obviously she forgot because she was drunk.

Me thinks there's more to the story. If you had a X-mas party at your house, were you not part of the planning beforehand? If not, you owe nothing.

Btw, are you living in a 'Three's Company'' situation?

Thanks for the replies. I was aware that there would be a party, but had no part of it's planning, and wasn't aware I would ever be expected to pay.

I'm living with five people, but sometimes I feel like it might as well be three. My best friend and I live in the house, as does this girl and her best friend. Then my landlord lives in the finished attic. So we end up the home of what people call "the girls, the guys, and the landlord."

I think I'll end up paying her to preserve the peace -- there's already a lot of tension in this house. Two weeks ago she didn't feel like doing the accumulated dishes in the kitchen, so she put them all in a giant box :lol:.

Move dishes from said box and put them in her bed.

Good idea Allen...I was thinking bath water

Haha.

You need your own sub-forum for your roommate stuff (I now recall some other threads that hardly made sense, too). :D

Of course you don't need to pay, but you are going to anyway? Hmmm... And she put dishes into a box?

Man, whenever I think my wife is nuts, I realize that compared to the rest of the world, I've got it good.

I think I'll end up paying her to preserve the peace -- there's already a lot of tension in this house. Two weeks ago she didn't feel like doing the accumulated dishes in the kitchen, so she put them all in a giant box :lol:.

Don't pay her. You don't owe her anything. If you pay her, all you're doing is rewarding her bad behavior and encouraging her to continue behaving this way in the future. If she's that bad a roommate, then maybe you guys should consider kicking her out.

On the other hand, if you decide to pay her cause it's easier- then I need to speak with you about the $800 that you owe me. I gave it to a guy, who said he was going to give it to a guy, who said you wanted to borrow it. We agreed upon a 10% per day interest rate. So like, I'll send you my paypal address and you can just send me the cash, cool?

Awesome.


Seriously though, don't pay her a red cent. Well, maybe give her some monopoly money.

Good idea Allen...I was thinking bath water

Back in my early days of college I was splitting an apartment 3 ways.
One of the roommates was eating us out of house and home. The other roommate and I worked in restaurants so we were well fed and didn't care if the fridge was empty.
To encourage our mooching roommate to buy his own food we for two months we kept the kitchen stocked with nothing but mustard sardines from the dollar store, bisquick, powdered milk, and maraschino cherries.

Our mooching roomie had quite a few rough meals.

You don't owe her crap nor should you shell out any cash or favors to her.

I'd give her a kiss on the cheek and call it a consolation prize.

The only real reason to pay is if there were any leftovers (wine, beer, spirits, mixers, stuffed olives, etc) and you have/will partaken in them. They didn't magically appear, somebody paid for them. If they were brought by guests, great, but the guests arrived probably with the idea of their stock adding to the roommate purchased stock.

Overall question: what price house harmony?

mustard sardines from the dollar store, bisquick, powdered milk, and maraschino cherries.

That makes my stomach hurt just reading it. Bravo!

bisquick, powdered milk, and maraschino cherries.


You could make a whole variety of tasty baked goods with just these three ingredients.

Thanks for the replies. I was aware that there would be a party, but had no part of it's planning, and wasn't aware I would ever be expected to pay.

I'm living with five people, but sometimes I feel like it might as well be three. My best friend and I live in the house, as does this girl and her best friend. Then my landlord lives in the finished attic. So we end up the home of what people call "the girls, the guys, and the landlord."

I think I'll end up paying her to preserve the peace -- there's already a lot of tension in this house. Two weeks ago she didn't feel like doing the accumulated dishes in the kitchen, so she put them all in a giant box :lol:.

You need to cut this **** at the bud, and don't let it progress further. Otherwise you end up doing all the chores and let her dictate everything. It was her party, that you didn't plan or even attend. She has the real gal to demand money from you, and is just testing how far she can push you.

You know that you don't owe money so why did you ask?

You could also tell her that you fronted her the money for the alcohol and she promised to pay you back. Obviously she forgot because she was drunk.

+5 but Karma will probably try to pay you back and it will hurt.

If you end up paying her just to "keep the peace", you're setting a bad precedence for similar situations in the future. Grow a pair now, or end up always trying to be the one that 'makes things right'. Btw, you owe me $20 for that advice.

I agree with everyone else. Don't pay her a penny. She sounds a little loco. Stand up for yourself and tell her no. It was her party and you weren't involved. If she can't afford to fund her own party, she shouldn't be throwing them.

Oh, and about the dishes thing...get your own set of dishes. Wash whatever you use right away, then immediately dry and put away in your room. Forget that community dish thing. There is always at least one person that never wants to take their turn. (yes that is the voice of bitter experience)

Haha alright then, thanks for the replies. I'm just gonna keep "forgetting" until she asks enough and I'll tell her straight up. She's gone in May anyways -- what do I care about keeping the peace?

I agree with everyone else. Don't pay her a penny. She sounds a little loco. Stand up for yourself and tell her no. It was her party and you weren't involved. If she can't afford to fund her own party, she shouldn't be throwing them.

Oh, and about the dishes thing...get your own set of dishes. Wash whatever you use right away, then immediately dry and put away in your room. Forget that community dish thing. There is always at least one person that never wants to take their turn. (yes that is the voice of bitter experience)

lol, I was just talking to a friend about how I've reached that conclusion about dishes. I'm going to look for a set at Big Lots. When people start complaining about an overflowing sink I'll be able to have a clear conscience :D

You should pay up since you did snag that bottle of scotch from the party stash right before you headed off to your girlfriend's house to cure your "ills".

The only time community dishes worked well was when I lived at a house of 6 people. We ALL took nightly turns doing dishes. When one didn't, they did not get fed at the weekly giant meal that was cooked by our friend/landlord of the place. For some reason, that was punishment enough and we all did our dishes. We even had a weekly chore rotation. I still can't believe I got suckered into all that.

I think you should admit to owing the money and offer to work it off...the "hard way". ;)

How much does she say you owe her? If it's minimal enough, I might also pay her just to keep the peace.

Two weeks ago she didn't feel like doing the accumulated dishes in the kitchen, so she put them all in a giant box :lol:.

Got a pickup? A half-dozen of these (http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com/Rubbermaid-Large-Bisq-WireDishDrainer-p/206763.htm?click=2744) in the bed, and the car wash becomes a dishwasher. (Skip the wax cycle.)

I think I'll end up paying her to preserve my chances of banging her -- I'm a tool and let people walk all over me :lol:.

fixt

Ethical question:

2 months ago there was a Christmas party at my house. One of my roommates just asked me if I have money her to pay her back for "[my] share of the alcohol." The funny thing is I have no recollection of said party, and no, Spry, I wasn't blacked out. Perplexed, I asked my best friend (who is also a roommate), who told me that I wasn't at said party, that it was a night I felt lousy and went to my girlfriend's place to sleep.

So the question is, to what extent, if any, do I owe her?

Always try to land "sunny side up" if you pass out and when you wake up check to see if your pants are on backwards.

You were one of the hosts at the pre-arranged party at your opium den.Got sick,tough nutz,pay your share of the bill.Your "story" once again has too many holes(sick,at girl friends,dog ate my homework).

Most likely it was some of your cronies lapping up the 5 cases of Natty Light and pizza.WTF could your share be,$29?Man up,step up to the plate,and crack open the piggy bank mom bought you last year.

Took you awhile to put in your comment, spry, what's wrong?

Took you awhile to put in your comment, spry, what's wrong?

He was without internet for 3 months during the blizzard. Cut him some slack. :p